In January this year, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published a new guideline for chronic pain. The urgent need to cut down on painkillers and opiods led NICE to recommend acupuncture as one of the four treatments.
Around one third of people may be affected by chronic pain such as:
fibromyalgia
myofacial pain
chronic neck pain
chronic pelvic pain
which can be accompanied by a diagnosis of depression and functional disability.
Acupuncture is recommended alongside exercise programs, psychological therapies and antidepressant drugs. NICE considered a number of treatments in creating this guideline including opioids, anti-inflammatories, paracetamol, benzodiazepines and gabapentinoids. Acupuncture was found to be superior to both sham and usual care for pain according to the 32 studies reviewed by NICE.
Source: BAcC